America needs to get its affairs in order

Born in the thick of the Great Depression, they were taught from an early age how to pinch a penny.

By the time my parents married in 1956, America was on its way.

The American economy prospered beyond anyone's wildest imagination for the next five decades.

My parents would have six children between 1957 and 1971. My father worked hard to generate income, as my mother worked harder at home to minimize the costs of running a large household.

When my father had an opportunity to retire at 60, after 37 years of 60-hour weeks, he took it. He was able to do so, in part, because his Social Security benefits would supplement his retirement income.

He's 79 now, retired for nearly 20 years, and he is saddened by the mess our country is in. America's massive debt, deficit and spending worry him.

His generation could never borrow and spend so recklessly.

How will younger generations foot the bill? What will the country be like for his kids and grandkids long after he is gone?

It's simple demographics. My mother and father entered the world with little and acquired more in wealth and good fortune than they ever would have asked for.

After World War II, as politicians established a number of entitlement programs, the costs were initially sustainable.

The population was growing. The economy was growing. And so the politicians kept on promising and spending and, for the most part, all was well.